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Why Monopolizing The Market Is Poor Customer Service

We’ve all played the classic board game Monopoly, and we know how frustrating it is when a player gets all of the prime real estate and has the gaul to put countless hotels on each space. It’s infuriating to watch them laugh their way to the bank while you hemorrhage all of your fake cash.

You may be thinking that it’s a blast to take the cash and win the game (and no one is saying you’re wrong there), but have you considered the ways monopolizing the market hurts you, your customers, and even your customer service team? Stick with me here- I promise I have a point.

How does this hurt your customers?

No one likes being backed into a corner. If a customer doesn’t have options, they feel trapped. When customers feel strong-armed, they are, naturally unhappy, and that’s just not a good place to be. When you boil it down, customers just want to feel heard, understood, and as though you are looking out for their best interest. That’s just good customer service 101. Even if they lack options, customers are not likely to return if they have been put in a position where they feel as though you are only looking out for yourself and not your customers. One need only look at the ongoing losses of cable television subscribers to see the impact from years of pent-up frustration and negative brand messaging. Not surprisingly, adding the word “cares” to your Twitter customer service account doesn’t magically transform a poor customer service organization into a good one.

How does this hurt your customer service team?

A vicious cycle comes into play, and customer service takes the brunt of the heat. Angry customers take it out on the customer service team, and rather than being able to focus on providing world class service, your team becomes a clean-up crew. Your office is no longer a productive work environment. Your customer service team is lost tending to angry people, rather than figuring out ways to learn and grow- suddenly you have a stagnant team and people grow complacent in their jobs.

How does this hurt you and your company?

See all of the above. When you monopolize the market, you lose the faith and appreciation of your customers. Your team is at a standstill without the possibility of growth or advancement, and even you can grow stagnant as a company or leader. You’re left with employees and customers all feeling powerless, which, undoubtedly, is not your end goal.

Your challenge as a company is to find the balance. How do you lead your industry while also giving customers, employees, and yourself room to grow?

Author

According to the Witness Protection Program, “Keri” hails from New Hampshire, where her childhood collection of jelly shoes still holds legendary status. “Keri” may or may not moonlight as a champion of secret warehouse hula hooping competitions, but you didn’t hear that from her. Shh... Oh, Keri is also crowdspring's Head of Ridiculousness (which does give her some street cred).

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